Month: September 2016

still needs a few final touches, but it’s done! i have to press the last couple of seams and then a long, soapy bath, plus buttons, but it’s almost there. more about that in a few minutes . . .

now that fall is truly here—it turned much cooler on sunday and has stayed that way; it really feels like we won’t have hot weather again—the garden has slowed down accordingly. i’m still picking stuff every day, but now it is a manageable basket of mixed things, enough for supper or a pot of something i can freeze.

on sunday i used that bunch of produce to make the vegetable terrine we featured in the most recent chapter of our pairings club (Sold Out). with every single vegetable ingredient available in our garden (six or eight i think!) except mushrooms, i couldn’t wait to make delicious dish, which we haven’t eaten in a while.

it’s sort of a cross between a terrine and a frittata. layers of grilled eggplant, tomato, onion, pepper, zucchini, potato, and mushroom, and mozzarella, with egg mixture poured in and all around, then baked.

it’s so yummy right out of the oven, but even better the next day. and sliced into slabs, it makes wonderful sandwiches, like the kind i used to buy at my favorite italian deli in brooklyn.

i skipped picking yesterday because i was busy and it was rainy most of the day, but today i got out there first thing and picked another basketful, this time a slightly different combination.

looks like a fresh batch of ratatouille, eh? and david’s favorite dish, hmm.

when i’m done with this post, i’ll get right on that . . .

maybe i’ll even get on top of this batch of ripening tomatoes i’ve been ignoring. the nice thing about the romas is that they can sit for quite a while, just getting better; they don’t spoil as easily as the big juicy heirlooms do. the heirlooms are nice for ratatouille tho—big flavor, lots of juice; they don’t thicken as quickly.

we still have lots of great veggies to choose from for stir fries, soups, pasta, and many other dishes, but i think this is my last chance to make ratatouille, being that we have only one zucchini and one yellow squash left.

what i need is to come up with a plan for all that kale we have out there . . .

ok, NOW we can talk about the sweater—i love it! it still needs a bath but so far it fits great, maybe even a little better than the old one. although seriously, the new one is as exact a replica as you could ask for.

as it turned out, i even knit the same number of repeats of everything to get the same measurements, nearly to the row (i wasn’t trying for that level of exactness; it just happened).

this is an oversized, dropped shoulder design, so the fit is quite loose through the body and armholes, etc. But i was careful about the fit at the neck and shoulders; one of the downsides of the old one was that the neck was a bit too wide which made it slip around on my shoulders. this one feels much more stable, like i could move around in it and not have to constantly adjust.

so happy this is done, just in time to wear it a lot.

meanwhile i’ve been moving right along on my lace cardigan; the back piece is done (it’s SO so nice to work on a project that flies off the needles!) and i’ve added it to the pile of pieces waiting to be blocked.

just one more skinny sleeve piece to go, yay! which i’ve cast on and knit about the first six or seven inches of. once it’s done, i’ll fire up the iron and steam block the pieces, then seam and give it a bath. the finishing work on it is fairly minimal; just the seams and some simple garter stitch bands all around.

i’m thinking glass buttons will be lovely down the front; normally i would have sent a swatch away to my friend sarina asking her to make a set but as it happens, we have some pink and brown ones from her in the shop already—perfect! and if they don’t work, i think i also have some clear glass ones with bubbles inside that would also be pretty.

i’ll be done with this before we leave for our weekend in athens, OH; i just realized i need to get another project on the needles quick.

i’ve been working along on finalizing our lace scarf book while knitting in between wherever i find time and have sorta had my head in the sand; i had no idea i was almost out of projects. not to worry, there is a long list of things i can start, as long as i can cobble together a working pattern.

i’m thinking that the skirt to match the twill pullover/cardigan should be next—mindless enough knitting for the road, and quick, too.

the skirt will be especially cute worn with the cardigan, which i think barb is going to knit? or someone . . .

speaking of the book, it will be ready very soon! our whole team is focused on it right now—i’m finalizing text and layout, david is shooting photos, hannah is working on cover illustration and social media, erica is working on creating kits, store listings, and social media, test knitters are finishing up samples, ronni is doing the last round of reviews on the patterns, anne marie is editing and correcting my text, and doug is ready with a smile whenever someone needs one.

still not sure when the exact release date will be but it’s soon—well before rhinebeck anyway . . .

this weekend, erica and i will travel back to athens, OH for the athens area fiber faire—this is a wonderful little event and we’d love to see you there! we will be well stocked with all of our yarns, a good time to come and shop in a relaxed atmosphere before the rhinebeck crowds deplete our inventory!

not only will we have a booth, but i’ll be teaching yarn voyage class on saturday afternoon 10/1—if you’ve been wanting to take this class, it’s a great opportunity; only $30 for a three-hour class, supplemented by the athen community arts, parks, & recreation.

we are both VERY much hoping that our friend, little anne, will stop by to visit us and hopefully bring her knitting. word has it that after learning to knit in our booth last year, she has bee working away at it and improving steadily.

i think we may also be packing a little preview trunk show of the scarf samples and possibly a few single-copy patterns of repurchase?? ok, i made that up, but i bet erica will go for it when i talk to her tomorrow.

i think that’s all i have for today—hopefully i’ll have time for one more post before we leave, but if not, i’ll see you when i get back.

you might not be pulling out cold weather knits quite yet to wear, but you might be making your holiday knits list, thinking of yarns to look for at fall shows, or looking for small, portable projects to take along on fall excursions. and we have a trio of possibilities for you.

this adorable set of worsted weight accessories was featured in the kickoff segment of our IMMERSION club in february. knit up in in the exclusive blue colorway le dauphin in spirit trail verdande, this trio is a quick, fun knit to brighten up those mid-winter days.

featuring an unusual cable that creates a chain look, the hat, mittens, and cowl were a delightful surprise to our clubbies and inspired a round of raucous fun in our ravelry clubhouse. over the next two months, participants enjoyed the speediness and satisfaction of finishing projects in plenty of time to wear them while the cold weather hung in.

each piece is designed for three sizes, making it a project that works well for stuffing stockings later on, since you can pick any size and it will surely fit someone.

oh, there is nothing like new england in the fall and this past weekend, i was lucky enough to be an instructor at the first WEBS fall retreat, which took place in the heart of the berkshire mountains.

not at the store (though we did get to spend some quality time there!), but on the beautiful UMASS amherst campus, in their teaching hotel and conference center, surrounded on all sides by views of new england.

and very fun people.

even though this was my third weekend away this month and i barely got out of ohio with my pants on straight, i was thrilled to be there with one hundred enthusiastic knitters, the ever-attentive WEBS staff, and my fellow instructors (who know how to make any event fun).

with just three days at home between waterloo and amherst and long to-do list to accomplish in that time, it was with a huge sigh of relief that i sank into my seat on the plane and pulled out my current knitting project.

i started this little eyelet cardigan in our chebris lace yarn (now available in this delicious frappé shade) while still in canada and knit most of the first sleeve during my plane rides home. but i had not touched it since and was eager to get back to work on it.

by the time i got to amherst, i was nearly all the way through the sleeve cap. what i love, love, love about this project is how quickly it is knitting up, compared to my previous two garment knits—much smaller in size and without cabling to complicate things, a very relaxing and mindless knit (just what i needed).

heh, or so i thought; apparently i was so exhausted that i forgot how to count to seven and had to rip back to the start of the sleeve cap. then i did it again while we knitted at the dinner table that evening. oy, vey!

third time was the charm, however and i finally got that piece off the needles.

of course, there were all sorts of distractions playing havoc with my focus, haha, like the trip to WEBS on saturday night instead of knitting. and these two honey badgers with their tricks . . .

or these guys . . . it was such a fun group that no one even minded the line stretching to the back of the store all evening. of course there was serious stuff going on too, like classes . . . an i was such a focused teacher that i forgot to take enough photos of them.

then in the afternoon, we blocked them, along with blocking several other types of projects, like socks, cowls, and sweater pieces.

my little DH was knit ahead of time in chebris lace as a test knit for my pattern; once off the blocking wires it is as light and airy as can be (which is why i’m knitting a lace cardi in the same yarn).

many of the students in the blocking class left early, exhausted by a whole day of intense classes and late night knitting on friday. but i stayed behind with tina to stretch and block her triangle shawl, which was knit from handspun alpaca yarn that her daughter brought back to her from ecuador. i’m not sure what pattern she used, but the shawl is exquisite—some of the fluffiest alpaca i’ve ever seen, with the charming texture of spindle spun yarn. she couldn’t be happier; the shawl blocked out much bigger than she expected.

on sunday morning i had a last breakfast together with the other instructors and then spent some quiet hours knitting in the lobby with kate atherly while we waited for our shuttle to the airport. we were each designing something and quite happy to knit side by side without too much chat. just lovely!

i used the time to cast on (three different times, oh well) for one of the cardigan fronts and once i was settled with the right stitch count, it was off to the races. i had that front piece done by the time i landed in ohio that evening. have i mentioned that i love this cardigan?? so quick, so light, so pretty . . . or it will be, once it’s blocked.

admittedly right now, the pieces look like so much crumpled paper, but trust me, they will come to life with silky-soft goodness and glow, once they’ve had a hot bath, a spanking, and some serious pinning and steaming.

i know you can’t feel this, but the fabric is a lit-tle too pettable; i have to be careful not to wear it out.

as you can see in the photos above, i’ve now got a third piece to join the first two completed ones—on monday i was so brain dead from the previous couple of weeks that i gave myself permission to knit for most of the day, only breaking for one short meeting at the office and then for a nap later on. and still i got another full piece completed before dinner; now there are TWO fronts.

and a respectable stack of little sweater pieces.

this morning i cast on for the back piece and got through the hem lace sections before forcing myself to put it away (i did have knit night tonight, so i was able to bring it back out and add a couple of inches during that time). just look at the gleam on that yarn, wow. mohair is so pretty anyway, but such soft and well cared for mohair?? priceless!

and because it’s knit in laceweight yarn, it all smooches down to a little package that fits into a slim project bag which i can take anywhere. what’s not to love?

one of the things that has made my time at home so busy in between trips is our local yarn discovery tour. we’re open for extended hours during the yarn crawl and the shop has been very busy. it all ends this saturday though—if you live anywhere in the vicinity, please stop by and visit. there is a free pattern to participants and door prizes too.

we’ve picked up a few new faces at our open knit knit night on wednesdays through this event, which we are happy about; always great to have a full house on knit night, right?

after i wrote my blog on wednesday, i did indeed steam block the rest of my dock and cabin sweater pieces. i ws a little anxious about how that yoke would fit together, so i decided should just block it and see.

now it’s looking much more like the right shape, phew. i’m sure it will be fine.

second sleeve also got steamed to match the first and everything is ready to be joined up with the fronts as soon as those neck and button bands are complete.

hello, did you wonder where i had disappeared to? it’s been a month filled with travel and just a few days at home so far—i hardly recognize dear david after being away so much!

almost as soon as we got back from visiting my family over labor day, i took off again for waterloo, ON to speak at knitter’s fair and teach at shall we knit? on the way i knit on the last piece of my dock and cabin sweater—the remaining sleeve—which i had started on my last day in albany, but hadn’t worked on much in the days i was at home that week.

by the time i got off the plane i was just a few rows away from binding off and would finish it up that night, once i was settled in my room after dinner. woo-HOO; this sweater is big and somewhat slow going (for me), having been interrupted numerous times in all sorts of ways. i am thrilled to have the pieces done and ready to begin seaming (more on that later).

i was last at knitter’s fair about five years ago and the event, now in a new venue and with more participants, has grown even better than it was back then. this is an indoor retail show—no animals—with shops and indie producers making up the vendor list.

the shall we knit? booth was packed with yarny goodness and even had a feature corner for our bare naked wools yarns, some of which which karen carries in her shop.

for the fair, she brought in a trunk show of additional yarns that she doesn’t normally have on hand and showed them alongside some beautiful sample knits (i especially love that caïssa sweater in stone soup DK, clasped with a jūl closure (upper right of photo); i might need one of those myself.

i think the doors opened at 9 am or so and by the time i got there at 11, the aisles and booths were thronged with fiber enthusiasts. i was to give a talk at 1 pm, but needed to do some yarn research for the lace scarf book, so i took a walk around the floor to see who was there and i found plenty of familiar faces.

like our friend kim of indigodragonfly with her gorgeous skeins of hand-dyed yarn, yum . . . i may have found a skein there that i couldn’t leave behind . . .

it’s chameleon sock; i couldn’t resist this iridescent, muddy gray/green/black with the color name we are all just living in idris elba‘s world (wow, you got that color name so right) everyone on hand agreed that i should not, could not leave it behind—it is SO me. kim knows me too, too well, right down to the fact that i’m a luther fan. that skein was lying in wait for me . . .

and then quite, quite unintentionally, probably because my wallet was already open and it was so close by, i also grabbed up a gobstopper just because. just because i love it to bits, that is, with its wheat and corn colored center, rimmed with perfect blue greens—a quintessential autumn palette of non-autumnal colors; exactly what i wanted without knowing it.

what i was really supposed to be doing was looking for a red yarn for the lace scarf book. oh and i found a few. the two on the left are from georgian bay fibre co; they have the softest ever BFL yarn. i am dying to make something with one of these skeins soon, just so i can wash it and feel it’s flannelly bloom afterward. and the skein on the far right is a quiviut/angora blend; i can’t remember the vendor’s name just this second but it’s delish and on its way to a sample knitter to become a scarf.

before leaving home, i had washed and blocked the scarf samples that had not been previously stretched. i was only home for three days that week, so i did two batches on two different evenings and got them all squared away. all i needed was to decide on the last skein of yarn and i thought a red would fit the bill.

with those shopping errands complete and several red options under my arm, i headed for the speakers area to set up my trunk show and get ready for my talk.

i was a little nervous, but as the seats filled up and i saw the high percentage of smiley, welcoming faces, i relaxed and enjoyed the event. as with every other visit i’ve made to the kitchener-waterloo area and talks with their guild members, this one was a delight. thank you to everyone who took time away from an exciting shopping day to sit and listen to me!

after the talk i took one more spin around the show to let the adrenaline drain away and this time, i found a tiny booth with some seriously gorgeous romney wool yarn that i could not keep my hands off of. look at the gleam on this skein! i don’t even know what i’ll make with it, but i can’t wait to find out, haha.

the next day was filled with classes at shall we knit?. first, yarn voyage in the morning, which is always such a treat to teach. i think most times, the students love it too; there is so much to know about everyone’s favorite subject—yarn!

then in the afternoon, we had a shawl project class for edmonia. a more relaxing and low key class, we worked our way through the pattern for a tiny doll-sized version of the piece, practicing all the stitch patterns and construction techniques. another good day—but i was so engrossed in my work all day that i never took a photo, not even of karen’s adorable destination shop. sorry . . .

the next day i was heading home; i had a lot to do in the few days i would be there before my next trip the following friday. i love my stack of finished pieces; so satisfying!

at home, my main priority was finalizing the september pairings club chapter (spoiler alert in that link!), but one evening i took a little break to block the two front pieces so i could graft the little yoke that runs around to the back.

once joined, i was now able to pick up all around the front edges for the button bands and neck finish. before i started though, i checked to make sure that the yoke would fit into the back piece, once it was blocked.

the geometry (? not sure if that’s the right word) was a bit of guesswork, but it looks like once the back is blocked it will fit correctly.

for reference, this is what the original looks like in back.

i have the old inspiration garment spread out on my workroom floor because i find myself continuously checking details as i near completion.

buttons for instance—once it’s ready for button bands, they need to be finalized and having the old sweater out will help me pick the right ones. since the stone soup fingering yarn in color pumice is a slightly different, cooler gray than the original, i’m going with black horn buttons for my new version. the thing is, what size?

the old sweater has one-inch buttons like these (from our shop) but when i lay them out on the fabric, they seem more dominant than i would like in the dark color.

these buffalo horn ones are nice; little smaller, streaked with shading, and textured, they are certainly in keeping with the yarn.

but then i also have these, which i purchased at churchmouse yarns some years ago during a teaching trip. they have a buffed surface with some vintage style cutwork and a shank at the back. i’ve been trying to find the right project for them for some time because i just love the look.

after consulting with mister style (that would be david) he agreed that these are the ones. the nice thing about using these buttons is that i can work a simple eyelet buttonhole to fit them, which is my preference; the larger ones would require a one-row button “slot”. not difficult to work but sometimes hard to get the right fit and i was running out of patience for this part of the project, haha.

so, i am now happily working through the neck and button bands; after a false start where i hadn’t picked up enough stitches (the bands were puckering), i think i’ve got the right proportion now. the rows are very long and worked in twisted rib, so it’s a little slow going, but i’m making progress and have completed the buttonhole row.

today i will block the back and sleeves to be ready for the final seaming steps, hopefully later tonight. soon you will see a finished cardigan.

in the meantime, i’ll be working along on the project i started while still in waterloo—had to keep moving through my queue. this one is going a LOT faster than the previous two sweaters; so fast that i can hardly believe it. more on that next time, along with photos and news of further travels.